THIS Sunday’s First Reading (Isaiah 55), written in the context of the impending return of God’s people to Israel from their exile in Babylon, also carries a lot of spiritual meaning.
The first three verses are an invitation to come back to God and listen to his instructions “so that you may live.” The invitation is to buy water, wine and milk without money, which of course is a metaphor to obtain good things for free. With this comes the admonition not to “spend money for that which is not bread, nor labor for that which does not satisfy” but to “eat what is good and delight in rich food.”
In essence, this is God’s offer of a full and abundant life. God’s blessings, both temporal and eternal, are better than anything we could ever aspire for or think of. As St. Paul writes, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9).
To prioritize the acquisition of things that are less important when what is most important can be obtained for free is thus pointless. A good personal relationship with the Lord is what counts most, and with it comes everything else. Jesus told us, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33). And that this is offered free does not mean that possession of God’s kingdom is a cheap commodity, for in fact, in offering the life of his only begotten Son Jesus on the cross, God has paid the highest price on our behalf.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). This is an everlasting promise – which as in the last part of verse 3, is of the same nature as the covenant God has made with David (see 2 Samuel 7 and 1 Chronicles 17).
Given our free will, we need to respond positively to God’s gift, if this were to be apportioned to us. We have a whole lifetime to do this, but because the passing from this life comes at the most unexpected time, we have to “seek the Lord while he may be found and to call upon him while he is near” (verse 6). Repentance, to be sincere, must not only be in words but in actions. “Let the wicked forsake their way, and the unrighteous their thoughts; let them return to the Lord, that he may have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon” (verse 7).
In ending the Israelites’ captivity in Babylon, God used the pagan king Cyrus to allow the Jews to return to Israel and rebuild the temple (see 2 Chronicles 36:22-23). In the same way, God can use any person, event or situation to end our captivity to sin and bring us back to his fold. Sometimes, it is hard to understand God, but we just have to trust that he has our best interest at heart. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (verses 8-9).
God is so all-powerful, that when he decrees something in our lives, it shall come to pass. He said, “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it” (verses 10-11).
To experience God’s redemption brings not only happiness to a person but inexplicable joy, so much so that the mountains and hills figuratively burst into song while the trees of the field clap their hands (verse 12), at the same time, replacing our thorns and briers (sinfulness and curse) with cypress and myrtle (healing, uprightness, and eternal life).
Let Isaiah 55 inspire us to end our exile to sin and return instead to the promised land of our deliverance.